And the miracle of today

Goober peas!

Now, I can’t say I quite know what goober peas are, but John Doan, a crazy talented musician, told me we all need to aspire to Goober peas. He told the story of his meeting the Burl Ives- a legendary folk music singer. Mister Ives’ advice on how to make something as mundane as an ‘Goober Peas’ (a song after the Civil War army food that may not have been too tasty) into a hit was to truly believe what you were singing, sing it as if your life depended on it and it was your last opportunity to perform it and to smile. If you believe in what you’re doing, people will notice. If you perform it as if it were the last time you’d ever have to do so, it will be contagious. And if you’re smiling, you just feel good (ok, Burl didn’t say you needed to smile, I added that one). He was performing at Dancing Oaks Nursery where the very special people who own it have created something noteworthy that people travel hundreds of miles to visit. It’s a place which has manifested out of a belief, an outpouring of effort and a really good smile. They must be growing some goober peas, eh?

Going to Rwanda is filled with vagueries so far. Or perhaps I choose to let the exact details fall away. All I want to do is go help people who aren’t often seen. Just tryin to make the world a better place is all- the travel part will only be a tiny bit fun. An itty bitty tiny little bit of fun. Practically torture. If there were someone willing to give me money instead of my always having to pay up to do these things, I’d be in heaven! And I wouldn’t be so close to broke!

But I believe in what needs to be done, I will do it to the best of my ability and a big ole plate of goober peas. Oh, and a smile, of course! :)